Category: DVD Review

New on DVD

When in Rome
Rated PG-13 for brief suggestive content
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Beth (Kristen Bell) is unlucky in love until she goes to her sister’s wedding in Italy and steals a few coins out of a local fountain.  Upon returning to America, she is confused as to why she is being heavily stalked by a group of fanatical men, when she realizes that she stole those mens’ coins from the fountain. Unless she returns them to the fountain, they will be stalking her forever.  If you just watched the first and last act of the film, you would think you were in worst film of the year territory.  The setup and conclusion are both so horrendous that it’s hard to believe the actors were able to get through their lines with a straight face.  The second act, however, has some pretty bright spots.  The men chasing her, played by Josh Duhamel, Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard, and Danny DeVito, all had some pretty hilarious moments and make you rethink your synopsis, that is until you get to the end.  If you are looking for the great romantic comedy that we’ve been missing for a long time now, this isn’t it.  I’ll keep searching though and let you know.  C-

Collapse
Not Rated
Available on DVD
Former Los Angeles police officer turned reporter Michael Ruppert was one of the only people who correctly predicted our recent financial crisis, almost perfectly.  Now Chris Smith (The Yes Men and American Movie) sits down for a riveting interview with him where he gives his next prediction: a new meltdown based on oil, economics, and covert U.S. policies that he thinks are leading us to an impending global catastrophe.  Is he paranoid?  Brilliant?  Crazy?  Perhaps a little of all of these, but frighteningly so – he is convincing.  His arguments have a lot of facts thrown in that are hard to refute.  This is an incredibly exciting documentary that you really should check out, no matter what your politics dictate.  A-

Supernatural: The Complete First Season
Available and Blu-ray
For five seasons now this CW show has flown under my radar, and I’m not exactly sure how, because this is exactly the kind of show I like to watch.  Supernatural follows two brothers whose father hunted evil for 22 years.  When their father turns up missing, they must hunt what their father hunts.  Along the way they run into vampires, ghosts, and demons, all of which must be brought down.  It’s a fun concept and a pretty well constructed show, with great special effects – especially considering it’s on the CW (no disrespect intended).  B

The Illusionist
Rated PG-13 for some sexuality and violence
Available on Blu-ray
Back in 2006, two magician film went head-to-head at the box office: The Illusionist, starring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti and The Prestige, starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale.  The Prestige might have won the box office battle, but in my humble opinion, The Illusionist was by far the better of the two.  The acting is excellent, the story is tricky but not impossible to follow, and the production values are spectacular.  Plus, the award-winning score by Philip Glass gives the film an added dimension of beauty.  A-

New on DVD

Shutter Island
Rated R for disturbing violent content, language and some nudity
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
When a girl goes missing in an insane asylum located on a remote island, two U.S. Marshals (Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo) attempt to investigate her disappearance, and anything else fishy that might be going on in the hospital run by its strangely-behaving doctor (Ben Kingsley).  Watching Shutter Island for the first time, I found myself really enjoying the ride trying to figure out what the heck was going on in the completely unpredictable world author Dennis Lehane (Mystic River) created.  Watching for the second time I understood why director Martin Scorsese wanted so badly to direct this film and what a masterpiece it truly it is.  Lots of films have surprise endings that throw a huge twist at you, but I’ve never seen a picture like this that is capable of taking you on two completely different journeys.  You could literally watch it twice back-to-back and not feel like you just saw the same film for a second time.  It is masterfully directed and wonderfully acted by the entire talented cast.  I do recommend you watch the extras on the disc, but only do so after you’ve seen the film as the spoilers will give away way too much before hand.  My prediction is that years to come, this could steadily climb many lists to reach the status as one of the great American films.  A+

Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Seventh Season
Available on DVD
Much of the Seventh Season of Larry David’s hit HBO show’s excitement was brought on by the promise of the great Seinfeld reunion, and while the Rated-R Seinfeld is hilarious, some of the other episodes were so wrong and uncomfortable that my stomach still hurts just thinking about them (from both pain and laughter).  You have to have a twisted sense of humor to appreciate Larry David as he will really try to offend you if he can.  The season opens with him wanting to break up with his girlfriend because her breast cancer interferes with his ability to get out and play golf.  Then he dates a girl in a wheelchair just because he realizes that people in restaurants treat them better.  And these are minor offenses compared to some of his other misdealings.  But somehow he makes you laugh and the season turns out, once again, extremely satisfying.  A-

Ice Road Truckers: The Complete Season Three
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
250 miles north of the Arctic Circle lies Prudhoe Bay and during the winter, a brave group of truckers have three months to get as many loads to the Prudhoe Bay oil fields as they can before the road created from ice over the water, known as the Dalton Highway, melts away.  The problem is, the Dalton is the most dangerous highway in America, having claimed more than 400 people since it was built 30 years ago.  Season three cranks up the amps by adding a hot woman driver, great computer-generated graphics demonstrating exactly what can go wrong, and some of the most beautiful scenery on TV.  It’s a little too much testosterone for most folks, but the element of danger combined with big rigs and raw determination make this, at the very least, and interesting show to check out.  B-

Elvis 75th Birthday Collection
Available on DVD
Had The King made it past 1977, he would have turned 75 in January, and to celebrate, Fox is releasing this set of Elvis pics including Clambake, Flaming Star, Follow that Dream, Frankie and Johnny, Kid Galahad, Love Me Tender and Wild in the Country in one deluxe box set.  While certainly not amongst his better-known, or better-made films, the collection is sure to make some fans happy, although it would have been nice to have had them remastered for the new set.  C+

The Man with No Name Trilogy
Available on Blu-ray
Since the subject is birthdays, Clint Eastwood just turned 80 last week and even though he seems to be still going strong, these early films of his are still some of my all-time favorites of his.  This set, containing A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly are arguably some of the best westerns ever made and yes, I’d put up young Clint above John Wayne any day of the week.  These blu-ray transfers look and sound amazing and are stuffed with special features that have been collected throughout the years.  Thanks for the birthday present Clint!  A

New on DVD

Alice in Wonderland
Rated PG for fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations, and for a smoking caterpillar
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
What do the critics know?  After all, this Tim Burton juggernaut of an adaptation just became the sixth picture to join the prestigious billion dollar club.  So obviously audiences found something great here.  For some reason I still can’t though.  I’m just not that in love with Johnny Depp  and Tim Burton that I can enjoy their films when they are this poorly told.  Just because there are a lot of weird and strange little things going on for two hours and just because the production design (which director Tim Burton is probably best known for anyhow) is pretty amazing, the picture is still not very entertaining.  For something that looks so original on the outside, the story turns out to be so unimaginative.  I am glad that Disney decided to include a ton of special features on how they made the film, since that is a little more interesting than the film itself.  C

The Wolfman
Rated R for bloody horror violence and gore
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins star in this remake of the 1941 horror classic about a man that visits his ancestral homeland to investigate the death of his brother only to find himself bitten by a creature trying to kill him, thus turning him into the legendary half-man, half-beast.  The wolfman bits are bunches of fun, although some might find them a little too violent for their taste.  The problem is that the human parts are just plain boring.  Luckily the film is only an hour-forty-five unless you watch the new director’s cut which is just at two.  Sometimes the pacing of the film makes you think it is much, much longer.  One really cool feature on the blu-ray version is it will let you watch the original 1941 Wolf Man and if you have a smart phone with Universal’s Pocket BLU app, you can even download both movies to your phone.  B

Burn Notice: Season Three
Available on DVD
Cable’s new number one series is back for season four on June 4 so USA thought they would give you two days to catch up with the season three DVDs just in case you missed out or need some brushing up.  If you’ve never heard of this show, and you don’t have time to add another show to your list, then you better not watch an episode of this one because, unfortunately, it is highly addictive.  Burn Notice tells the story of Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donavan), a “burned” spy that has been left dry in Miami with his assets frozen.  He does mercenary and PI work for hire with his partners, Gabrielle Anwar and Bruce Campbell, to raise money both to live on and investigate who burned him in the first place.  To make matters worse for him, he now has a sexy female cop, played by Moon Bloodgood, on his trail.  This is one super fun show full of style and wit and while the eye-rolling does occur from time to time, you can’t help but feel entertained.  B

New on DVD

True Blood: The Complete Second Season
Rated TV-MA
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
In season two of the highly acclaimed HBO vampire serial, Sookie Stackhouse and Bill Compton (Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer) heat up their romance while fighting both extreme religious nuts that want them dead and an evil woman that enters their small town of Bon Temps, LA for the sole purpose of causing mayhem.  The show continues its tradition of being one of the sexiest, yet still one of the creepiest shows you’ll ever see.  The writing is smart and witty and the acting is superb.  Whatever HBO lost after the Sopranos left, it has more than made up for in its new flock of programming.  This new set of discs is a huge improvement over season one, containing loads of commentaries and special features to explore.  A

The Road
Rated R for some violence, disturbing images and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Cormac McCarthy, The Road follows a father (Viggo Mortensen) as he he tries to protect his son from what is left of the world as it is coming to an end.  We, as an audience, don’t know how everything is over, but animal and plant life have died off and the few humans alive are all fighting for the few scraps left, and most have turned to eating each other as well.  It is up to the father and son to carry on what is left of humanity before it lost forever.  From start to finish this is a beautiful, poignant, thought-provoking, yet frightening experience.  A few years ago, Entertainment Weekly named the book the best written in the last twenty-five years.  I’m not going to say it was my favorite book I’ve read in that time period, but it is really darn good, and the images in the movie were almost exactly what I had in my mind while reading.  Director John Hillcoat, whose western The Proposal is another must see, has a way with making tough, hard-hitting films feel like poetry.  I was saddened that the movie wasn’t nominated for a single Oscar this last year as it was truly one of the great movies of 2009.  Since it didn’t pull in a big box office either, I think it’s safe to assume that many of you didn’t get a chance to see it in theaters, so I’m hoping it gets a much stronger life on DVD.  A+

I Know What I Saw
Available on DVD
Most folks consider UFO witnesses to be crackpots and whackos, but documentarian James Fox tries to convince otherwise as he presents the most credible UFO witnesses from around the world.  Military leaders, commercial pilots, scientists, and even a governor all come forth and tell their first-hand stories, some of which they were ordered never to tell by the U.S. Government.  The content makes for an interesting argument for alien existence.  Unfortunately, Fox’s skills as a filmmaker are amateur at best and the movie ends up looking more like a bad college project than a first rate doc.  He is so busy trying to present his thesis that his bias and passion get in the way of his progress.  Then again, the information was enough to make me question whether or not to call him a crackpot after the movie was over.  B-

The Virginian: The Complete First Season
Available on DVD
For many decades westerns ruled the television landscape and NBC did a very gutsy thing by launching the first 90 minute television western with The Virginian, based on Owen Wister’s 1902 novel.  Set in the mythical town of Medicine Bow, Wyoming in the 1890’s, it explored the lives and relationships of the people that ventured west to settle in the new wild land.  The popular show ran for nearly a decade and those who loved it will really love the way they are respectfully releasing the series, coming fully restored and digitally remastered in full color on 10 DVDs in a beautiful collector’s tin.  I remembered going to my grandmother’s when I was young and watching this show on her old black and white, so getting this set in full color has been a nice trip to the past for me, although with over 39 hours of content, it will be a while before I finish.  B

Spartacus: The 50th Anniversary Edition
Rated PG-13
Available on Blu-ray
This monumental epic, partly directed by Stanley Kubrick (the first hour was directed by Anthony Mann before being replaced) and starring Kirk Douglas, makes its 50th anniversary release on blu-ray in a stunning restoration this week.  Unfortunately, the problems in the movie, such as some really poor acting by all of the non-Brits in the cast, still plague the film.  After all, I don’t think anyone can sit through Tony Curtis saying “I am a singer of songs” with his New York accent without completely cracking up.  But as far as gorgeous, influential movies go, Spartacus is one of the best.  Maybe it’s because the movie is over three hours in length, but the disc is surprisingly bare of extras, containing only a few deleted scenes and a bit of vintage footage.  B

New on DVD

Invictus
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
In this Clint Eastwood directed film about South African leader Nelson Mandela starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, the newly appointed leader of the nation chooses to bring the divided country together by uniting them behind a common cause: winning the Rugby World Cup.  It’s such an unconventional story and quite inspirational.  While it did huge business worldwide, it pulled in relatively few dollars in the states.  This could possibly be because of America’s unfamiliarity with Rugby, as the film was certainly one of Eastwood’s most ambitious and the critical response was fairly strong.  I wasn’t too keen on Freeman getting a nomination for best actor here, but Damon definitely earned his best supporting nod (and should have gotten one in the best actor category for The Informant! also in my humble opinion).  And while I’ve still never seen an actual game of rugby, I found the sport to be well represented and well-enough explained for the film to be enjoyed.  A-

Legion
Rated R for strong bloody violence, and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
God is angry with mankind and has decided to destroy them, so he sends a group of angels to do his bidding.  But the angel Michael knows that by saving the life of a mother and child at a diner in the middle of nowhere could change God’s mind.  To do so, though, he must lose his wings, steal a ton of guns, and shoot every last creature they throw at him.  So I think it’s safe to say they won’t be showing this one in Sunday School.  This is truly Hollywood trying to be religious and while most theologians will simply ignore the film, those that do watch will do a lot of eye-rolling.  But theology aside, is it a good movie?  Not quite.  Paul Bettany is a terrific actor who keeps picking bad roles that aren’t right for him.  He’s good in this, but the rest of the actors are really pretty horrible.  Lucas Black, Dennis Quaid, and Charles S. Dutton are starting to look like B-movie stars with these kinds of performances.  The special effects aren’t too bad though and it has some good scares, so if that’s all you are looking for then by all means check it out.  But if you are looking for a good film about this subject matter that is actually well written and much better acted, check out the 2005 film Constantine.  C

Valentine’s Day
Rated PG-13 for some sexual material and brief partial nudity
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
The Brits took on Christmas with Love, Actually and did such a great job with it that Hollywood decided to attempt to do the same thing with Valentine’s Day by throwing every actor in town into a blender and seeing what would become of it.  And by every actor, I really do mean most.  Alba, Bates, Biel, Cooper, Dempsey, Elizondo, Foxx, Garner, Grace, Hathaway, Kutcher, Latifah, Lautner, Lopez, MacLaine, Roberts, and Swift with famed romantic comedy director Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman) at the helm.  But they forgot a decent script!  It’s almost as if they said to the actors – “act like it is Valentine’s Day – ACTION!!!”  The story lines are awful and the performances are worse.  Very little of the film seems well thought out at all.  What worked about Love, Actually is that we were interested in the characters.  We didn’t get to spend that much time with them, but that didn’t matter because they were our friends by the end.  And what about that tremendous music driving the entire film?  By the end I think everyone could hum that amazing Craig Armstrong score.  My point is, if you are going to copy a great film, copy it.  Don’t act like you are trying to do something different and then release this kind of drivel.  If Simon Cowell were judging this film I’m fairly certain he would sum it up in the same three words I’ll use: indulgent Hollywood crap.  F

The New Daughter
Rated PG-13 for thematic material including violence, disturbing images and brief strong language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
In this almost straight-to-DVD release, Kevin Costner is a single dad who has just moved into a creepy house with his young daughter and son.  When the daughter starts to exhibit strange behavior after prolonged exposure to being outside, he starts to believe that there is something on his property that could be possessing her.  While not a great film, for a monster movie with a big name star, it’s not completely bad.  It’s a lackluster horror script, but has decent enough effects and production values.  I’m not sure what kind of draw Costner found with a project like this, but he certainly has seen better days.  C

New on DVD

Edge of Darkness
Rated R for strong bloody violence and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Mel Gibson is a Boston cop whose grown daughter is gunned downed right in front of him.  As he tries to discover why men would want him dead and accidentally kill his daughter instead, he starts to learn things about his daughter and her involvements that lead him to an unimaginable conclusion.  This is first-rate thriller that really gets your blood boiling and doesn’t let you down.  If you are ignoring this one because you think it is going to be a typical revenge flick – think again.  It’s not even close.  It’s a murder mystery with far-reaching implications that leaves you thinking about our own world and especially our own government.  There is a strong message attached to the film that makes this not just a thrilling movie, but an important one as well.  A-

Tooth Fairy
Rated PG for mild language, some rude humor and sports action
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Dwayne Johnson is minor league hockey player whose rough antics on the ice have earned him the nickname “The Tooth Fairy” due to the amount of teeth he has knocked out.  Having lost out on his own dream of maintaining his stardom in the NHL, he loves to crush other kids’ dreams as well until he is sentenced to one week of actual Tooth Fairy duty, complete with a tutu and magic wand.  If you are like like me then just the thought of this film makes you cringe.  You just know it’s going to be plug-into-the-formula family film with a dumb premise.  And for the most part you’d be right.  This film ain’t great.  But while it’s not great, I think it’s a compliment to say that a film like this is not horrible.  There is some merit to it.  Johnson is a dynamic actor and is capable of salvaging projects like this and with costars like Ashley Judd, Stephen Merchant and Julie Andrews, there are some likable moments.  And just like he does in The Princess Bride, Billy Crystal comes in and kills in a terrific and memorable scene that most people will sit back and ask years from now “what was that Rock movie Billy Crystal was so funny in?”  C

Mel Brooks Collection
Available on Blu-ray
A few months back Twentieth Century Fox released a blu-ray box set of most of Mel Brooks’ films, but slowly afterward they have been releasing the individual titles (with the same features).  On blu-ray this week comes the classics: History of the World: Part 1, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and High Anxiety.  All three have features from the original laser disc editions, plus new specials on how the films were made and what set them apart from the rest of the comedies of their times.  History of the World: A  Robin Hood: A-  High Anxiety: B

New on DVD

Nine
Rated PG-13 for sexual content and smoking
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Based on the Broadway musical, which was based on the Federico Fellini film 8 1/2, Nine tells the tale of a famous film director (Daniel Day-Lewis) that is dissatisfied with all aspects of his life, most notably his guilt of having to love only one woman when there are so many in the world worthy of his bed.  While maybe not the greatest choice for the latest big-budget Hollywood musical, Director Rob Marshall and his ultra celebrity cast of performers, including Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Fergie, and Judi Dench, does a stellar job of entertaining and the film is as sexy as a musical can possibly be.  The problem lies in that aside from a couple of tunes, the songs just aren’t that great.  Guido’s Song and Be Italian get you going just fine, but most of the numbers just leave you thinking that the movie would be nothing without the amazing art direction.  B-

Leap Year
Rated PG for sensuality and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Amy Adams sets up an elaborate plan to propose to her boyfriend who just happens to be in Dublin on February 29, the day she is convinced is an Irish tradition to get engaged.  When the weather doesn’t cooperate with her plans and she ends up way off course, an innkeeper (Matthew Goode) offers to drive her the rest of the way to Dublin.  Of course they get in their own little adventure and she must decide if she really wants the new guy or the old.  Two words: Predictable and boring.  If you just watch the trailer for the movie it is exactly what you expect, except you hadn’t wasted 100 minutes of your evening on it yet.  There are a couple of cute jokes, but overall it’s a sad little waste of time.  D

Dr. Zhivago: 45th Anniversary Edition
Rated PG-13 for mature themes
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
David Lean’s classic tale of romance and struggle set during the Bolshevik revolution is getting the hi-def treatment with this new release including a restoration taken from original film elements.  While I’d rather they have done this to Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia first, it’s still good to have such a quality version of this beautiful film for the library.  I do think they went a little overkill with that song over 3 and a half hours, but it’s still a remarkable motion picture.  A-

Saving Private Ryan: Sapphire Series
Rated R for intense prolonged realistically graphic sequences of war violence, and for language
Available on Blu-ray
Getting the Sapphire treatment from Paramount this time around is the modern classic war film Saving Private Ryan.  Containing two discs, the movie is just part of the package here, as included in the set are hours of extras such as the making of the picture and a documentary hosted by Tom Hanks about the courageous men who filmed battles.  Even with tremendous undertakings like HBO’s Band of Brothers and The Pacific, Saving Private Ryan still holds up as probably the most realistic and certainly one of the most compelling WWII films ever made.  How it got beat out at the Oscars by Shakespeare in Love is still a mystery to me.  A+

Tokyo Sonata
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief strong language
Available on DVD
Japanese with English Subtitles
When a Japanese businessman loses his job, his seemingly normal family slowly deconstructs to the point of pure chaos.  Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, this is a highly unusual film where we see the similarities of our culture and then the vast dissimilarities.  The father doesn’t wish to let his family know of his job loss, even though they already know.  The oldest son wants to join the American military against his parents’ wishes.  The youngest son wants to study piano, and might just be a child prodigy, but the father gives strict instructions to not do so.  And the mother is losing her mind.  The whole thing spins so far out of control towards the end of the second act that you wonder how the atonal mess can ever bring itself back together.  But I would challenge anyone to fight back the tears in the very emotionally impactful third act.  B+

New on DVD

Avatar
Rated PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language, and some smoking
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Set far into the future, Avatar tells the story of a paraplegic marine whose mind is put into the body of an alien so that he can infiltrate their tribe and hopefully negotiate the terms of their relocation so that the resources they are living on top of can be mined out.  But when his loyalties begin to turn, he gets involved in the middle of a war that could jeopardize either his own kind or the very existence of his new friends.  While the story has been slammed by way too many people as being unoriginal, I still feel that writer/director James Cameron was brilliant in making the material just familiar enough to be recognizable, yet different enough to be completely enthralling and captivating.  While it’s great to finally be able to see this one at home, I must warn everyone that this is just the first of many editions of the film that will hit DVD and blu-ray.  This is a bare-bones edition with no special features whatsoever.  Rumor has it that later this year Cameron will re-release the film into theaters as a director’s cut, and then you will most likely want to re-purchase.  And then there will be the version with how they did all of the special effects and all of the other special features.  By the time this one’s done there may be several reincarnations, so if you don’t think you’ll watch it more than once or twice, it may be a rental for you.  Then again, the blu-ray is so spectacular to look at on a nice TV that you may not want to wait that long.  A+

Crazy Heart
Rated R for language and brief sexuality
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges is a washed-out country singer trying to get back on his feet in this little indie that came on strong towards awards time.  While I felt it was a little over-hyped and that Bridges was much like Sandra Bullock in that he won the Oscar merely because it was his turn and not because he outperformed the other actors this year, the film still was a pretty good little flick with some great tunes and a very good performance.  My biggest gripe is where did they get the name ‘Crazy Heart’ from?  That has got to be one of the worst-fitting titles in years.  B-

It’s Complicated
Rated R for some drug content and sexuality
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin are two exes that get back together for an affair, trying desperately to hide it from his wife and her new boyfriend (Steve Martin).  While it’s definitely a comedy for the older crowd, it’s still a very funny pic with some great set pieces including a gut-busting scene that shows way too much of Baldwin.  It’s not a coincidence that they are releasing this just before Mother’s Day as this is probably a nice gift for many of the Meryl age and older mothers out there.  B

Out of Africa (25th Anniversary Edition)
Rated PG
Available on Blu-ray
It’s been 25 years since Out of Africa led a shut-out of The Color Purple at the Academy Awards by taking home seven statues including best picture and best director.  Based on the true story of a woman (Meryl Streep) who travels to Kenya to be with her cheating husband and falls in love with a mysterious adventurer (Robert Redford), Out of Africa is a gorgeous film to look at and listen to, especially on blu-ray, but a tad on the dry and boring side.  That being said, for the fans out there, it will be a welcome addition to many libraries.  B

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Rated PG-13 for violent images, some sensuality, language and smoking
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Terry Gilliam directed Heath Ledger in his last film before his death in this extremely weird, but typical Gilliam pic.  Christopher Plummer is Dr. Parnassus, the leader of a traveling stage show who is about to lose his daughter to the devil until a young man (Ledger) comes to the rescue to help out.  Because Ledger never finished the filming, his part was re-imagined and recast for additional scenes by Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell, which sort of made sense in the story but made the film all that more weird.  Still, you have to love Gilliam’s imagination, or imaginarium if you will, as he is truly one of the most creative spirits in Hollywood and always brings a product that keeps it’s audience on its toes.  B+

Five Minutes of Heaven
Not Rated
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
in 1975, a 17-year-old Irish-Protestant assassinated a 19-year-old Catholic in his home in front of his 11-year-old brother.  Thirty years later, the Protestant (Liam Neeson) has been rehabilitated and released from prison and a television talk show wants to bring he and the younger brother (Nesbitt) together for a reconciliation, the brother must decide whether to seek his revenge he has been waiting his entire life for, or find another way to get over his pain.  While the film isn’t the kind that normally makes a killing at the box office (no pun intended), I’m surprised it really never found a home, especially with this cast and the fact that it won both the Directing Award and Screenwriting Award of World Cinema at the Sundance film festival.  The movie is very well-paced and the writing and directing are excellent.  Nesbitt is a bit over the top and has a few Gollum moments, but Neeson is his typical brilliant self and it is an overall very watchable film with some really great moments.  A-

New on DVD

The Lovely Bones
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving disturbing violent content and images, and some language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
For Peter Jackson’s much-anticipated follow-up to his Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings Trilogy, he chose Alice Sebold’s novel about a young girl that is murdered by a neighbor, and then proceeds to connect with her parents and friends while she is living in the “In-Between,” a surreal world that lies between Heaven and Earth.  As far as special effects go, Jackson creates an amazing vision that sticks with you long after you leave the theater.  When it comes to movies of this sort, I still prefer that of Vincent Ward’s What Dreams May Come, but both films provide a beautiful yet haunting look at the afterlife.  While the film leaves you visually satisfied, there is just something not right about it.  The acting by Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz is off with neither one of them turning in very solid performances (conversely, Stanly Tucci and Saoirse Ronan are incredible).  But acting aside, it starts with Jackson toning down the violence from the book, and with good reason because this very well might have been known as merely a rape movie, rather than what it became.  But it feels like Jackson is keeping too many things from us and that the story seems somehow incomplete.  C

44 Inch Chest
Rated R for pervasive strong language including sexual references, and some violence
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
From the writer of Sexy Beast comes this hard to swallow drama with a stellar cast including Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast), Ian McShane (Deadwood), John Hurt (V for Vendetta), and Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton).  When Winstone’s wife admits that she’s been seeing someone else, his friends go and pick up loverboy, take him to their hideaway, and over the course of the film decide what to do with him.  The acting is phenomenal, but the subject matter is deeply depressing.  Winstone’s pain is so real that it leaps off the screen and you both fear for the stranger’s life and understand the anger at the same time.  The movie feels like it belongs on a stage rather than the screen, and if it ever got a cast like this on Broadway or the West End, it would be a smash, unlike it’s small box office draw it received in it’s theatrical run.  B

The Basketball Diaries
Rated R for graphic depiction of drug addiction with related strong violence, sexuality and language
Available on Blu-ray
Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg were barely getting started when they made this drama about a couple of kids in high school that wasted their lives away once they discovered heroine.  For both of them it was one of their best performances, which makes it hard to believe that the film only made 2.4 million at the box office.  Then again, this ain’t exactly an after school special.  It’s a tough film to watch, filled with many scenes where you just want to turn your head and look away.  I remember when Leo became a heartthrob after Titanic and people made fun of the good- looking kid that can’t act.  I would quickly remind them of Diaries and Gilbert Grape, which showed a gutsy good-looking kid that wasn’t scared to show off his ugly side.  Of course now he is widely considered one of the best actors in Hollywood, but checking this one out you can see he’s had talent from the start.  A-

Mammoth
Not Rated
Available on DVD
Gael Garcia Bernal and Michelle Williams are a happily married couple with busy lives that are put to the test when Bernal must travel to Thailand for an extended business trip.  The film desperately wants to be Babel, and even brings in Bernal for the right flair, but the movie is such a bore that by the time something actually happens, it is completely predictable and I can’t help but think that most of the viewers will be completely apathetic.  C-

New on DVD

Apollo 13: 15th Anniversary Edition
Rated PG-13
Available on Blu-ray
In order to capitalize on the 15th anniversary of the theatrical release of the Ron Howard/Tom Hanks Astronaut classic, Universal is releasing Apollo 13 for the first time on Blu-ray.  For most folks in Houston, the events of the film are a close to home history when Jim Lovell and crew attempted to land on the moon and almost didn’t make it back to Earth.  While Howard admits that he never intended it to be so, the film has become one of the most important historical looks at the NASA program ever put on film, telling more than just a story, but also fully explaining our unique fascination with space exploration as well.  Universal brought back all of the old special features from earlier editions, but there is very little new on the disk and that is a shame.  The U-control features, especially the one dealing with Tech-Splanations is a nice addition, but they really should have updated the documentary Conquering Space: The Moon and Beyond as it is incredibly dated.  While the commentaries were taped 15 years ago, I highly recommend the one with Jim and Marilyn Lovell as they relive their experiences while watching the film.  It’s a very unique way to take in the movie.  B+

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Rated PG for some mild rude humor
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
This second installment puts Alvin and his brothers in school, while three new female chipmunks come on the scene to give them a run for their money.  I have to admit that when I was a kid I used to like Alvin.  I sped up records and sucked in Helium to imitate the sound.  So I can understand how kids can like it, but the difference is now I wish they wouldn’t like it.  It’s not that this is a bad film.  I can’t think of any way to make it better.  It’s just annoying.  Really, really annoying.  By ninety minutes in I wanted to strangle the rodents though the screen.  I really do believe that Alvin the Chipmunks was invented as a weapon to seek revenge against parents for having children.  People without children and critics unlike me who had something else to review this week are laughing themselves silly at the poor saps who have to put up with this.  If you are one of said parents – I feel bad for you because your kids are gonna tear that disc up, just like they did the first one.  My advice: invest in some nice noise-canceling headphones, plug them into your iPod, and say over and over again “serenity now.”  For kids: A  For adults: F